Share your mistakes...

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2 things I've learned:
I drained the tranny( all the oil drained from the filter hole). I rode a full track session with a completely EMPTY tranny before the clutch started making awful noises. I'm lucky that it didn't seize and pitch me off.

, i remember you said it was something simple but that sucks. I wouldn't be so lucky lol..

__________________A motorcycle is a joy machine. It's a machine of wonders, a metal bird, a motorized prosthetic. It's light and dark and shiny and dirty and warm and cold lapping over each other; it's a conduit of grace, it's a catalyst for bonding the gritty and the holy.

surprisingly NOBODY has said check tire pressures! whether on the street or on the track, it makes a HUGE difference.

i've had 25+ crashes (majority being racing), and i'd have to say a good amount of those crashes come from wrong tire pressures. i've gotten to a level where even 1/2 a lb. of pressure makes a big difference on my riding. it can be the difference between winning a race and losing one. it can be life or death. very important.

Safety wire your oil filler cap so you don't ride to the track and show up covered in oil.

__________________

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave C

Anyone wear chaps with fishnet shirts? My friends give me for it, but I feel most comfortable this way. Just seeing if anyone else out there feels the same. Also looking for other men interested in riding.

surprisingly NOBODY has said check tire pressures! whether on the street or on the track, it makes a HUGE difference.

i've had 25+ crashes (majority being racing), and i'd have to say a good amount of those crashes come from wrong tire pressures. i've gotten to a level where even 1/2 a lb. of pressure makes a big difference on my riding. it can be the difference between winning a race and losing one. it can be life or death. very important.

+1

Always double check your work...
I always double check ANY work that "someone" does on his bike. Some times people who are inexperienced can get side tracked and axle nuts don't get tightened after a chain adjustment. Then I end up having to ride home by myself, grab my truck, pick up a bike and pull a favor for another spacer and axle nut.

__________________
If people insist on acting like idiots, I must insist on treating them like idiots.

this might sound simple and obvious, but after i ate i realized that i should trust my tires, look where i need to go by emphasizing on stretching my neck toward the direction of the turn, also before getting on the bike, quick walk around the bike, chk oil, tires, chain.
p

I would rather take the time to double check his work, point out what needs to be taken care of and then fix it instead of burying someone I love. I cannot tell you how little trust I have for any shop touching my bikes, so many people get complacent in their jobs and then it is my life on the line. This is why I do my own work. Oh, and his work too.

Double check, always.

__________________
If people insist on acting like idiots, I must insist on treating them like idiots.

If your ride a liter bike, save the potetional headaches and buy steel sprockets. Even if they claim to be "hardened aluminum". Those few ounces you save, with aluminum. arent going to make us average guys and gals turn a faster lap. I had an aluminum sprocket and had no idea the teeth would round after only a few race weekends and couple track days. I got 1 lap into like the 9th race on the sprocket and the chain started skipping. I eventually crashed as it skipped at max lean in the houseshoe and I "lost" the rear.

Needless to say, my rear sprocket looks like this now.... steel and needing to be leaned.

If your ride a liter bike, save the potetional headaches and buy steel sprockets. Even if they claim to be "hardened aluminum". Those few ounces you save, with aluminum. arent going to make us average guys and gals turn a faster lap. I had an aluminum sprocket and had no idea the teeth would round after only a few race weekends and couple track days. I got 1 lap into like the 9th race on the sprocket and the chain started skipping. I eventually crashed as it skipped at max lean in the houseshoe and I "lost" the rear.

Needless to say, my rear sprocket looks like this now.... steel and needing to be leaned.

As an addition: stick with a 530 chain for the same bikes.

__________________A motorcycle is a joy machine. It's a machine of wonders, a metal bird, a motorized prosthetic. It's light and dark and shiny and dirty and warm and cold lapping over each other; it's a conduit of grace, it's a catalyst for bonding the gritty and the holy.

I was out messing with my motorcycle this evening and thought to myself, "if I knew then what I know now, I could have saved myself a lot or money and unnecessary stress". Sometimes, if you're like me, you learn the hard way. It's almost as if I can't be warned, I have to experience it myself. What's the saying? A smart man learns from his mistakes, a wise man learns from others mistakes.

Here's a thread dedicated to the wise men. Post your mistakes so that those that will listen, might not experience the same.

I'll start.

Case Cover Armor

I got the bare minimum because it was required by CMRA to compete. As you can see, they have served their purpose well. Without them, surely I would have oiled the track a time or three, possibly put others in danger and definitely ruined my case covers.

If you are riding the track regularly, get case covers. Eventually, you will crash and if your bike spends enough time sliding across the pavement, you'll grind through your covers, spill oil and subject yourself to the expense of new covers.

I mentioned I did the bare minimum and decided against an idle gear cover. I crashed and this happened a couple of weeks ago.

$75 and I would have saved myself the trouble. But check this, had my clutch lever and rear sets not been broken, I would have tried to finish the race and who knows what would have happened. When you get case armor, add the additional protection if your model of bike needs it.

Post your mistakes for other to learn.

Just to note cdill, we've used full casing covers before and following a low side the strengthened casing cover had withstood the impact fine but had actually pulled a lump out of the crank casing where the two bolted together!!!! instead of the OE cover breaking I guess the energy/forces are such that something has to give!! Seen that on both the generator side and the starter cover/clutch side.